Review: LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL at Robinson Center

Omigod you guys! One of my favorite girl-power movies was created into a musical, and I had to go see it! Produced by Big League Productions and brought to Little Rock by my friends at Celebrity Attractions, LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL took over Robinson Center, 426 West Markham St. in Little Rock, this past weekend Friday, April 21, through Sunday, April 23, to a very enthusiastic crowd. We cheered from the time the cast hit the stage until the last blonde bent and snapped away. We were all ready to pledge our loyalty to the Delta Nus.

Based on the novel "Legally Blonde" by Amanda Brown and the 2001 film of the same name, with music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin and a book by Heather Hach, LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL follows Elle Woods (Hannah Bonnett) as she leaves the comforts of California and takes on law school on the east coast. After being dumped by her boyfriend Warner (James Oblak) because she is too much of a Marilyn and not a Jackie, Elle decides she needs to follow him to law school to win him back. With the help of her friends Serena (Taylor Lloyd), Margot (Jesse Lynn Harte), Pilar (Rory Furey-King) and the rest of her Delta Nu Sisters, Elle scores well on her LSATs and makes her way into Harvard. While there, she has a run in with almost everyone, including the not so unfortunate looking new girlfriend Vivienne (Lea Sevola) and the shark Professor Callahan (Chris Carsten). With her new friends Emmett (Woody White) and Paulette (Ashley Morton), Elle survives having to make navy the new pink, winning Brooke's (Kaelee Albritton) murder trial, and graduating valedictorian, and proves that this Legally Blonde found her way.

Director Jeffrey B. Moss really captured the essence of the beloved movie. It was such a fun show, and I loved the energy from this cast. Bonnett was an amazing Elle. She embodied the spirit and charm of our heroine, and her chemistry with her castmates was super fun to watch. I loved her duet with Oblak on "Serious," but watching her lead the ensembles like in "Bend and Snap" was "So Much Better." Carsten as Callahan was slimy and oozed with toxic masculinity....in short...a perfect bad guy. I enjoyed watching the transformation of White's Emmitt go from having a chip on his shoulder to giving in to Elle's influence. My favorite pairing though is probably between Morton's Paulette and UPS delivery guy Kyle (Matthew Dean Hollis), who she calls "walking porn." Their interactions put a big smile on my face every time. In fact, this whole cast was simply superb. I could watch this over and over again.

It's the details that make a good show great and memorable. Choreographed by Bob Richard, this show had a lot of fun numbers, but one of my favorite moves was during "Omigod" where they all jumped at the same time. It wasn't regular jumping though, and my limited dance knowledge is probably not going to do this justice. However, at one point in unison, the whole cast jumped with both feet swinging forward four or five times, and it was the best visual from where I was sitting. Everyone loved that particular move. It was fleeting but repeated in the reprise at the end. I loved it! Another fun detail was with the videography in the background. Designed by Simon Lambert, the digital wall was brilliant. My friend commented that instead of making the digital background seem real, they embraced it for what it was. The texted messages projected made us feel like we were part of their texting group, and I LOVED the projected swimming sharks while they were singing "Blood in the Water." Again, those details are what really pulls you into the story.

A great musical can't happen without great musicians. In the orchestra pit are: Music Director, Keys 1 - Eddie Carney; Associate Music Director, Keys 2 - Braden Chudzuk; Reeds - Henry Hernandez; Bass - Thomas E. Carley; Guitar - Derek Brooker; and Drums - Marc McDuff.

Broadway World acknowledges that it takes an army to pull off a musical of this caliber. The Creative team consists of: Jeffrey B Moss - Director; Bob Richard - Choreographer; Randel Wright -- Scenic Design; John Beltre -- Costume Design Coordination; Charlie Morrison -- Lighting Design; Jonathan Infante -- Video Design; Simon Lambert -- Sound Design; Karin Lopez -- Wig Design/Coordinator; Skip Brevis -- Co-Music Supervisor; Sean Cameron -- Co-Music Supervisor; Alison Franck -- Casting Director; and Daniel Sher -- Executive Producer.

To find out where LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL will be next, visit their website at https://blondeontour.com. To see what Celebrity Attractions is bringing to Robinson next, check out their website at https://www.celebrityattractions.com. For all upcoming events at Robinson Center, that information can be found at http://robinsoncenter.com.

Thank you to Drager Creative for the use of the wonderful pictures.

The Cast of LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL are: Hannah Bonnett -- Elle Woods; Woody White --Emmett Forrest; Ashley Morton - Paulette; Chris Carsten -- Professor Callahan/Elle's Dad/Winthrop; James Oblak - Warner; Lea Sevola - Vivienne; Jesse Lynn Harte -- Margot/u/s Elle Woods/Ensemble; Taylor Lloyd -- Serena/Ensemble; Chanel Black -- Pilar/Ensemble; Kaelee Albritton -- Brooke/Courtney/Whitney/Elle's Mom/Ensemble; Sia Arvinger -- DA Joyce Riley/Delta Nu/Sales Person/Ensemble; Harley Barton -- Enid Hoopes/Delta Nu/u/s Paulette/Ensemble; Carley Caviglia -- Delta Nu/Store Manager/Student/Prison Guard/Judge/Ensemble; Meg Frost -- Delta Nu/Student/Court Stenographer/u/s Chutney/Ensemble; Jack Gimpel -- Aaron/u/s Warner/Ensemble; Matthew Dean Hollis -- Kyle/Dewey/Grandmaster Chad/Ensemble; Reagan Kennedy -- Swing/Co Dance Captain/u/s Elle/2nd ASM/Ensemble; Alexis Loiselle -- Delta Nu/Student Kate/u/s Vivienne, Brooke/Ensemble; Brandon Moreno -- Carlos/Lowell/Ensemble; Pablo Pernia -- Nikos/Your Majesty/u/s Kyle, Dewey, Grandmaster Chad/Ensemble; Bernard Richards -- On Stage Male Swing/Reporter/u/s Callahan, Winthrop/Ensemble; Gill Vaughn-Spencer -- Pforzheimer/Violinist/u/s Emmett/Ensemble; and Emma Wilcox -- Chutney/Delta Nu/u/s Enid/Ensemble.

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